Norm Benson

No one “right” way to farm

Again, there is no one right way to farm. By its very imposition on a piece of land agriculture disrupts the local ecosystem. Read more about conventional farming and organic farming in this Scientific American article here.

Will Living Simply Help Save the World?

Last month, famed primatologist Jane Goodall was quoted on the Huffington Post as saying, “The world is in a horrible mess … We need to starting changing (sic) the way we live, from the clothes we buy to the food we eat. We need to change our greed and materialism. We need a critical massContinue reading “Will Living Simply Help Save the World?”

Fried Green Sustainability

In the movie, Fried Green Tomatoes, Cathy Bates waits for a parking space only to have it taken by two female twenty-somethings who blow her off with, “Face it lady, we’re younger and faster.” She rams her tank of a car into their tinier VW convertible. Bates’ parting shot is, “Face it, girls. I’mContinue reading “Fried Green Sustainability”

The Straight Poop on GMO Labeling

During June, two items hit the news involving unsavory (to some) food options. The first was a letter to the Record-Bee from a local organic grower taking me to task for my column, “Something Fishy This Way Comes.” The grower accused me of being against “choice.” She contended, if genetically modified (GM) food is notContinue reading “The Straight Poop on GMO Labeling”

Ugly Duckling In The Woods By William Keye

This is an op-ed piece that William Wade Keye* submitted to the Sacramento Bee at the beginning of July, in response to two articles (“State to assess Battle Creek logging activity and effect on salmon” and “Troubled waters of Battle Creek“) and an editorial (“Governor needs to keep pledge at Battle Creek”) they published highlightingContinue reading “Ugly Duckling In The Woods By William Keye”

TNC’s Chief Scientist Considers Conservation in the Real World

Stewart Brand provided a synopsis of Peter Kareiva’s talk given at the Long Now Foundation. In general, environmentalist have earned the reputation of being “misanthropic, anti-technology, anti-growth, dogmatic, purist, zealous, exclusive pastoralists.” Kareiva gave several examples of how that reputation was earned. In Green rhetoric, everything in nature is described as “fragile!”—rivers, forests, theContinue reading “TNC’s Chief Scientist Considers Conservation in the Real World”

Sunday Funnies

Deep Optimism About Today and Tomorrow

Matt Ridley spoke in March 2011 at the Long Now FoundMatt Ridley spoke in March 2011 at the Long Now Foundation. Dr Ridley was the science editor for the Economist and has written several books. The latest is The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves.. Ridley makes compelling arguments that for me made sense, and forContinue reading “Deep Optimism About Today and Tomorrow”

Peter Kareiva “Conservation in the Real World”

Peter Kareiva, the chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy is well worth listening to. He recently gave a seminar at the Long Now Foundation. Stewart Brand, who hosts the Seminars About Long-term Thinking, noted this from Kareiva’s talk: In Green rhetoric, everything in nature is described as “fragile!”—rivers, forests, the whole planet. It’s manifestly untrue.Continue reading “Peter Kareiva “Conservation in the Real World””

For Mice and Men, Dose Doth Make the Poison

My latest Green Chain column in today’s Lake County Record-Bee: Every day, I make my wife and myself a cup of coffee. Should I be arrested for spousal abuse? I am serving her a phenol-laced liquid, containing 826 volatile chemical substances, 16 of which are known by the state of California to cause cancer. OneContinue reading “For Mice and Men, Dose Doth Make the Poison”